Running the Event Live

You've spent lots of time preparing for this moment, your attendees are streaming in, and the countdown has begun.

It's time to run your event!

As you go live, you'll want to make sure that:

• you have your recording started
• you're sharing your presentation materials
• you've enabled any devices you'll be using (webcam/microphone)

Once you're live, the first few moments where you're engaging with your audience are crucially important.

Remember, webinars are an opportunity for you to establish an authentic relationship with potential customers. You're also constantly competing for their attention, especially on a webinar when there are 18 other things they could be doing that are only a click away.

With that in mind, you'll want to use these moments to set a tone for the rest of the webinar.

Here are two quick takeaways that are worth remembering:

One thing that can make or break a webinar is the presenter’s enthusiasm and energy. Low energy presentations lead to less engaged audiences and higher drop-off rates. You need to keep the energy up and keep the audience excited.

— Sid Bharath, Growth Marketer and SaaS Consultant

The presenter must be vibrant and interesting. Even the most interesting topic can be made stale by a monotone presenter. Make sure to use an eloquent host for every webinar.

— Brianna Valleskey, Senior Content Marketing Manager at Sendoso

Bring your energy and passion and it'll give your audience a launching pad to build from, starting a feedback loop with their response to your energy. That's when the magic happens!

Of course, a critical part of this is to avoid just going through your presentation without involving your audience.

Take it one step further, and ask strategic questions and you’ve effectively created a two-way dialogue that should motivate your audience to participate while also giving the host(s) the opportunity to establish their authority as a thought leader.

— Josh Brown

Instead, you'll want to find opportunities during the webinar to engage your audience and make them a part of the presentation itself.

Of course, nobody expects you to always be 100% on—taking a quick moment to drink some water, catch your breath, or even clear your thoughts are completely understandable.

Furthermore, some things can occur that are outside of your control (no matter how well we prepare for the webinar): connectivity issues might pop-up, the power may turn off, your computer might shut down, the microphone could stop working, or a million other scenarios.

Remember that your audience will be more than empathetic to these issues—so don't let these potential mishaps worry you to the point that they affect your ability to present. In the case that something like this does happen, do your best to get back into the event and try to continue where you left off.